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Ground Travel

Environmental Indicators

Ground travel represents motorized transportation within Fort Collins city limits. Ground transportation emissions account for about 25% of the community’s carbon inventory. These emissions occur when vehicles burn gasoline and diesel, both fossil fuels. As public transit, biking, and walking become more feasible for day to day needs, and alternative fuel vehicles, such as electric vehicles, replace traditional vehicles, these emissions will decline, helping the community reach its climate action goals.

Ground Travel Emissions

Ground Travel Measures

The following measures are categorized as direct or indirect. Direct measures track data used to calculate carbon emissions. Indirect measures show community trends that may impact carbon emissions but are not directly tied to carbon calculations. Some measures are not evaluated against a target and are simply informational. This is indicated when the status bar is gray instead of green, yellow, or red.

Measures

Actual

Target

Results
Direct Measures
Vehicle Miles Traveled (miles/year)
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is one indicator used to calculate carbon emissions from ground travel – 23% of community emissions in 2020. As long as the majority of vehicles on the road run on fossil fuels, this measure will track overall vehicle emissions trends. VMT is predicted to continue increasing as the Fort Collins population grows. The reduction in VMT in 2020 was due to COVID-19 and resulting Stay-at-Home orders, and that reduction is not expected to become a trend in following years. Growth in VMT can have positive, negative, or neutral impacts on emissions depending on vehicle type. VMT data is modeled by the Northern Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization (NFRMPO).
1,265,316,523N/A2023
Indirect Measures
Percent of People Commuting by Transportation Type
This metric estimates the percentage of people who commute (to work or school) by a particular type of transportation such as car, bike, by foot, etc. Data comes out once per year from the American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census. Click on the measure title to see each type of transportation and what percentage of the community typically uses that type of transportation.
N/AN/A2022
City-wide sidewalk network (square feet)
This is a measure of the number of sidewalks constructed or repaired to improve pedestrian connectivity citywide to eliminate hazards and remove obstacles. An increase in sidewalk square footage is a positive trend. With current funding levels, the City aims to complete about 45 projects a year or about five miles of additional sidewalks. Data is provided by the City of Fort Collins.
4,42210,000Q4 2023
Percent Arterial Bike Network Crossings Completed
This measures arterial bike crossing improvements implemented since the adoption of the 2014 Bicycle Master Plan. Arterial bike crossings are areas where a bicycle route crosses a major street. Crossing at such intersections can be uncomfortable and a barrier to bicycle travel. Improvements include things like widened ramps and waiting areas, overhead signals, pavement markings and signage to guide bicyclists. Improving bike crossings helps people bike safely, encouraging more ridership thus indirectly decreasing emissions. An increase in bike crossing improvements is a positive trend. Data is supplied by the City of Fort Collins.
3030Q4 2023

Ground Travel Links

Click here to go to the Transfort homepage.

Click here to go to the FC Bikes homepage.

Click here to go to the Fort Collins Pedestrian Program homepage.

Click here to go to learn about the Fort Collins EV Readiness Roadmap.